Behind Blue Eyes
by keita52
Summary: Once, he had been just plain Jack Harper, a loving father, even if he didn't get to see his daughter as often as he wanted. He'd kept everything about Cerberus from Hannah and Jane. Then his little girl died, and he funneled everything he had into bringing her back.
1. Sympathy For The Devil

_Originally posted on the Mass Effect Kink Meme  
_ _Prompt:_

 _Shepard's parents divorced when she was young so she took Hannah's last name and spent her years moving between them. Shepard loved her father dearly and to her, he was just a normal business man who would always take good care of her whenever she lived with him. Image her surprise after her resurrection that her loving father was in fact The Illusive Man, the leader of Cerberus._

 _Would love to see_

 _\- A lot of conflict between father and daughter, and how it change her relationship with other Cerberus-related characters (like Miranda could be jealous of Shepard since TIM dotted on Shepard and while her own father just saw her as a tool, etc...)  
_ _\- Shepard romanced Garrus, which didn't help at all. Maybe Garrus could share with his girlfriend about his own conflict with his father.  
_ _\- TIM would often send gifts and other things that he know Shepard would love (maybe food that he cooked with his own hands). Not because he wanted to manipulate but simply because she was still his little girl.  
_ _\- When he did try to control her, he called her nicknames like "Janie", but he also made it clear that even if she wasn't commander Shepard, he would still use Cerberus to bring her back.  
_ _\- Prefer red-headed, Paragon Shepard.  
_ _\- A scene about TIM's reaction to Shepard's death at the beginning of ME2._

* * *

He had been called 'The Illusive Man' for so long that it had become part of his self-identity. It was rare that he ever thought of himself as 'Jack Harper', like that was an old nickname he'd grown out of instead of the name he'd left behind for Cerberus.

But at that moment, watching the broadcast from Commander Jane Shepard's funeral, he felt like just plain old Jack Harper, mourning his beloved daughter.

He barely heard the commentary that was playing over the footage, barely registered the praise they were heaping on her. Daughter of a respected high-ranking Alliance official, a war hero, the first human Spectre, 'Savior of the Citadel'. He wasn't mentioned anywhere in there - but he hadn't expected to be. The paper trail on his involvement with his little girl was almost nonexistent, especially since she had enlisted at 18. He'd wanted it that way. It was safer for her if his enemies didn't know their relationship.

He was surprised to see how old Hannah looked. But then again, no parent should outlive their child. He watched as Udina presented Hannah with a flag, following the pre-space flight tradition. He watched as that motley group of aliens filed past her coffin and tried not to feel angry at how many of them there were. It was wrong that she'd needed their help. There should have been more humans that rallied to her. If he had it to do over again...

Well. There were a lot of things he'd have done differently.

His marriage to Hannah had been brief, the split an amicable one - two people who had married over an unexpected pregnancy recognizing that they weren't suited for one another in the long run. At least, that's what he'd framed it as. Some days, that's what he believed. Other days he wondered if Cerberus wasn't to blame - if he hadn't founded and been so deeply involved in that organization, could he have made things work with Hannah? Would he ever have been content being the dutiful military husband who held down the fort while his wife was off serving the Alliance?

Probably not, if he was being completely honest with himself.

That might have been why he'd never fought Hannah over custody. Never complained when schedules had to be shifted because of her work. The marriage hadn't been much of anything, but what it had produced - was something else entirely. His Janie had been a gift from the day she was born, and it had taken no time at all for him to make her the center of his world. How could he not have loved someone who shared his quick mind and interest in knowing more, doing more, always pushing boundaries? Sometimes he felt like he was looking into a mirror when he looked at Janie, making an effort to catch all of their similarities and take pride in them. His little girl had never let anyone tell her what she could and could not do, an attitude he often found himself taking - especially these days.

On the screen, the dignitaries were filing out, and the Illusive Man found himself filled with rage all of a sudden. How many of those people had actually known her? How many had _any_ idea of who she was beyond all those puffed up descriptions they kept assigning her?

"I should be there," he said aloud, the words seeming to echo in his large, empty room. "I deserve it. I _raised_ her."

But he'd chosen to keep his work with Cerberus hidden from Jane and Hannah, and this was the price he paid. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he couldn't be there. That didn't blunt the pain he was feeling.

What good was all of the work he'd done, all of the advances he'd tried to make for humanity, if it couldn't save the person he loved most in this world?

Unable to contain his grief any longer, the Illusive Man bowed his head over his desk and wept for his daughter.


	2. Who Are You

Jane Shepard rolled her shoulders back in a habitual gesture before stepping into the holographic projector. She wasn't looking forward to working with Cerberus - not after the atrocities she'd seen from them while she was chasing Saren - but after Freedom's Progress, she knew she had very little choice. They'd brought her back from the dead. She didn't forget her debts, even if she loathed the one she owed.

She was a bit disappointed that she wasn't meeting this 'Illusive Man' in person, but it made a certain degree of sense. He was the leader of a terrorist organization, someone the Alliance would dearly love to get their hands on. Perhaps even the 'Most Wanted', though she'd rarely paid attention to any of that sensationalist nonsense.

When the scan finished loading, she was astounded at what she saw. Her mouth hung open for a few long minutes as she tried to reconcile two things that seemed to flatly contradict each other. "Daddy?" she asked finally, in a very small voice.

"Hi, Janie," her father said, lifting a cigarette to his mouth. (Jane remembered the time she'd fought with him about his smoking, pleading with him to quit. He'd just smiled and said 'It's not the cancer that'll get me in the end, Janie.')

"Don't call me that," she snapped angrily. "I'm not a little girl anymore."

"But you'll always be my little girl," he said gently, and smiled at her. It looked somehow out of place on that creased face of his, with eyes that were somehow much bluer than she remembered them being. "It's so good to see you."

"You're not actually seeing me!" Jane yelled. This wasn't real. This _couldn't_ be real. The Illusive Man was a ruthless terrorist who authorized hideous experiments on innocent people. She remembered the rachni, the Thorian creepers, Admiral Kahoku and the Thresher Maw. The anger she'd felt as she put the pieces together and realized that there was an organization - Cerberus - behind all of that. She remembered thinking that she could very easily hate this Illusive Man.

And now, she was finding out that he was her father, Jack Harper. Who had always been there for her when she needed him. Who had carefully cleaned her skinned knees and read her bedtime stories. He'd taken her out for ice cream when she broke up with her first boyfriend, helped her with her homework and given her recommendations for music he thought she'd like. Jane had always felt lucky to have two parents who loved her so much, even if they weren't together.

How was this possible? How was it that two completely different people were, in fact, the same man?

"I'm sorry, Janie," her father replied, his shoulders drooping slightly. "I wish I could be there in person to see you. But it has to be this way."

"No, it doesn't," Jane shot back. "You could _not_ be a murdering bastard. _Then_ you could come and see me." She shook her head. "Now I know why you didn't come to my graduation from basic. From N-school. Why you didn't come to the ceremonies after Elysium." She felt herself shaking, almost uncontrollably. "What, since I was an adult, you figured I didn't need you anymore? You figured that you could devote all of your attention to _Cerberus?_ " She spat the word out.

Her father looked hurt. "That's not it, Janie, and you know it. I know you're upset."

 _"You're damn right I'm upset."_ She _was_ shaking uncontrollably now. This was too much. She'd been brought back from the dead by her father, who secretly controlled a terrorist organization with seemingly unlimited funds. She made herself turn around to start leaving.

"Janie-"

"Not now, Daddy," she said without turning back. "I - I can't do this right now." Her pace quickened. She barely noticed Miranda staring at her in open shock as she exited and ran, ran up to her cabin to sob in peace.


	3. Till There Was You

"Archangel is Garrus Vakarian."

Miranda Lawson said it calmly, and the Illusive Man had to admire her poise. It was only because he'd worked so closely with Miranda that he could tell things had changed between them since she'd overheard Jane calling him "Daddy". Small wonder, with how Miranda's own father had treated her. Perhaps he should have told Miranda sooner. But since it was too late for that, the Illusive Man put it aside and focused on the topic at hand.

He'd wanted Archangel for Jane's team because of the mythos that had quickly sprung up around the vigilante when he'd started destroying Omega's mercenary bands. Anyone who could manage to piss off all three of them at the same time and not die in the first day of retaliation was someone he wanted at Jane's side, regardless of species.

This should have been excellent news. Vakarian, like everyone who had been on the Normandy SR-1, already felt a degree of personal loyalty towards his Janie. He'd already accepted that some of the crew would have to be non-human. Mordin Solus was an unparalleled genius, even for a salarian. The next batch of dossiers he was putting together was looking to be completely alien. He just needed to find the current locations of Thane Krios and the justicar Samara, and his sources amongst the quarians indicated that Tali'Zorah vas Neema was about fed up with her orders and looking for an excuse to move on to something else. All three were supremely excellent in their fields. All three would become personally loyal to Janie - for Tali, it would take almost nothing to accomplish that feat.

He knew that Miranda disapproved of how many aliens were coming onboard the SR-2. He wondered if that was going to be a problem.

"Vakarian," he said aloud. "I suppose I should have seen the possibility. Was it difficult to get him out?"

"He took a rocket to the face," Miranda said, matter-of-factly. "Almost bled out before we could get him back to the Normandy. Chakwas had to threaten to dose Shepard with tranquilizers before she'd leave the infirmary."

The Illusive Man couldn't hide the wince that came at that. The personal loyalty ran both ways, it seemed. It was a new risk to consider. He wished - not for the first time - that he dared be there in person with her. To see how the operation was going, as it was a critical one, key to the survival of the human race -

No. He could offer up those excuses as much as he wanted. He knew that the truth was that he wanted to be there in person to be with Janie. To spend time with her, to try and regain the closeness they'd had before she joined the Alliance. He knew it couldn't happen, for so many reasons - the primary one being that Janie was too mad at him to accept his presence. It should have been that he couldn't risk himself and Cerberus by being this closely involved in a single operation, and exposing himself so much. He knew that wasn't the primary reason.

"Thank you," he said aloud to Miranda, forcing himself back on track. "Is there anything else?" He hoped that the question would goad her into speaking her feelings about the fact that Commander Jane Shepard was his daughter.

For a moment, it looked as though Miranda would take the bait. She opened her mouth, and then, with a noticeable effort, composed herself. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I'll let you know how the mission to retrieve Jack goes."

"Very well," the Illusive Man said, holding back a sigh. "I'll look forward to your next report."

* * *

"Shepard."

The familiar flanging tones of Garrus' voice whipped Jane Shepard's head around. She stared at Garrus as he walked through the open door of the briefing room, her heart pounding in her ears. Everything had been so uncertain, so chaotic since her resurrection, but here -

Here was one thing that was _right_. Mostly. She barely heard Jacob making a comment about how tough Garrus was. She stared at the side of Garrus' face, at the patch that covered the wounds he'd taken. She had thought about what had happened the whole time since being shooed away from Garrus' bedside, trying to figure out if she could have prevented it. Most of her anxiety had eased at seeing him up and walking.

"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?"

His tone was light and joking, and Jane couldn't help but respond in kind. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some facepaint on there and no one will even notice."

She was rewarded with a soft chuckle which trailed off into a slight groan as he commented, "Ah, oh, don't make me laugh. Dammit, my face is barely holding together as it is." He paused. "Some women find facial scars attractive… mind you, most of those women are krogan."

Something that Jane hadn't even realized she'd begun to bury started clawing its way back towards the surface of her mind, and she smiled back at him, her stomach seeming to be churning over three different emotions at once. Once again Jacob barely registered, except for the shot of relief she felt when he saluted crisply and left the room. She kept looking at Garrus. He was alive. He was going to join her again. Be by her side on the Normandy.

"I almost died today, Shepard," Garrus said quietly. He took a few steps towards her. She tilted her gaze up to keep looking at his face. "I would have, if you hadn't been there. That sort of thing … makes you think. About what you'd regret not doing." He stopped a few paces in front of her. Jane started daring to hope.

"There's at least one thing I can do now, before I lose my nerve." His head bent to touch his forehead to hers, his hand coming up to rest at the back of her skull. Jane closed her eyes and reached her right hand up to lay it against his unscarred cheek. She knew what the gesture meant coming from a turian, and she felt warm all over as though he _had_ kissed her. He let out a deep sigh that seemed to be equal parts relief and contentment.

Jane felt like she had to speak, as much for herself as to reassure him. "I had hoped that you returned my feelings," she said. "All those nights we spent talking- all those hours working on the Mako together- I just could never bring myself to make a move. When the chase is over, I thought. When I bring Saren to justice, and stop the geth. Then it was when I finish cleaning up the geth like the Council asked - when you'd gotten back into C-Sec like you planned. And then…" she trailed off. She could almost feel the cold seeping back in, the terror. Garrus noticed and quickly pulled her against him. His armor was not terribly comfortable, but his hands were warm.

"Hey," Garrus said softly, into her hair. "I'm here. I've got you, Jane."

She let out several deep breaths and felt the trembling start to die down. "Did you have to come up here in your armor?" she asked, in an attempt to distract herself from the slowly ebbing fear. "It's not very comfortable, leaning against it like this."

Garrus chuckled, then let out another groan. "I told you not to make me laugh."

"Sorry," Jane apologized, smiling. "I like your laugh."

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Garrus said. One hand reached up and rested against the side of her head. "For the future. When it doesn't hurt to laugh."

"Oh, I look forward to seeing what you come up with," Jane said. She closed her eyes, content to let herself be held. Not having yet adjusted to the realities of her new life, Jane was completely unaware of the fact that everything that had just transpired between her and Garrus had been recorded by the AI who called herself EDI.

Which meant that moments after the pair of them finally left the briefing room, the Illusive Man figured out that his daughter had a new, non-human boyfriend.


	4. Wild Horses

Jane gave a sigh of relief when Udina stormed in and took over the meeting with the Councilors. She should have been upset that Udina, slimy as always, was undermining Anderson's authority.

But she desperately needed to talk to her old CO out of his assistant's hearing.

She caught Anderson's eye and walked over to the balcony, with him following. She rested her arms on the ledge and leaned over, taking a moment to drink in the view of the Presidium. It looked pretty much the same as it had two years ago. Hard to believe that any time had elapsed at all, which wasn't helping her ongoing cognitive dissonance about having been _dead_ for _two years._

"Something on your mind, Shepard?"

Jane turned to look at Anderson. "I need to talk to my mother," she said.

Anderson sighed. "I can't do that."

She'd _known_ he was going to say that, and it still made her angry. "Sir. With all due respect—" She had to pause, remembering Ashley saying those words on Virmire. She fought back the tears that seemed to be starting far too often these days and continued. "This isn't like me asking to see Kaidan. He's a good friend, but I get that he's on some top secret mission that you can't share because I'm not Alliance anymore. This is my _mother_."

"Jay," Anderson said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was a nickname that some of her mother's friends in the military used, because to them, _Hannah_ was Shepard. Jane preferred her full name, but didn't make a fuss about it.

Most of the time.

"It's Commander Shepard. Or Jane Shepard if you feel the need to distinguish me from my mother, _who is not here_." Jane tried to put a bit of backbone in her voice — a characteristic that she usually had no trouble summoning. She hated that it seemed to be harder these days. Since coming back from the dead.

Since finding out that her beloved father was actually a ruthless terrorist.

Jane banished those emotions, taking a step back and staring at Anderson. "It is critical that I talk to my mother. The matters that we have to discuss are about _family_." She paused. " _If_ there is anything that she deems pertinent, I am sure that as a loyal Alliance officer, she will ensure that it is passed on."

Anderson raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at, Commander?"

"Like I said, sir, I need to talk to my mother about family issues." She gave him her best smile. "I know that you can't necessarily ask an Alliance officer to meet with someone who's officially _persona non grata_. No matter if that person might be _unofficially_ still in Alliance good graces. So why don't you just tell me how long it would take my mother to get to Omega. And if I happen to be there when she is, you're not responsible for any meetings that might take place."

"Well." Anderson sighed. "Seeing as how I'm pretty sure Hannah would skin me alive if I actively kept you two apart, I don't see that I really have a choice." He straightened himself up and looked like an actual Councilor for the first time since Udina entered the room. "Two weeks. If you're on Omega in two weeks, there's a decent chance that you'll run into your mother."

"Decent chance?"

"You two are too damn much alike," Anderson grumbled. "You know perfectly well that as soon as I drop this news on her she'll head straight for Omega."

"I couldn't possibly speak to what _Alliance_ personnel will do."

"Get out of my office, Jay."

Jane grinned. They were back on familiar ground. Best thing to happen to her all day. "I don't take orders from you. Sir."

" _Out."_

She saluted him as she left.

—

Jane waited in one of the small side areas of Afterlife, watching the door. Grizz had dropped by a few minutes earlier to let her know that the Orizaba had docked. A few weapons 'confiscated' from mercenary groups and modified by Mordin had served as a sufficient bribe for Aria's cooperation. Jane had been skeptical about Aria at first, but the slow exchange of favors had built a relationship of mutual respect and trust. Maybe Jane owed Aria one from this; maybe Aria was still paying off the debt that she had built up to Jane. They'd work it out eventually.

She drummed her fingers on the table and tried to find something else to distract herself with while she waited.

Then, a familiar shock of strawberry blonde hair walked through the door, and Jane was on her feet and running to pull her mother into a tight hug. She rested her head on Hannah's shoulder and started to cry. _Again_. Dammit, she was stronger than —

Jane realized that Hannah was crying too.

She stopped worrying about being strong and found what comfort she could in her mother's embrace.

It was a long time before either of them was willing to let go, but eventually, Jane straightened herself up and guided them over to the table she'd been sitting at before Hannah entered.

"You don't get to do that again," Hannah said, her voice firm. "You're _grounded_ , young lady."

Jane had to laugh, which had likely been Hannah's intent. "What's the extent of my grounding?" she asked.

"No leaving the Milky Way," Hannah told her sternly.

"Yes, Mom."

"That's my girl."

They both grinned at each other for a few long moments. "Thank you for making this happen," Hannah said. "Omega's a good neutral place, but you know we're probably being spied on."

Jane looked at the door and saw Grizz standing there. His mandibles flared in a smile, and he exited, pulling the door shut behind him.

"Nope," she said brightly. "Aria T'Loak and I have an … understanding."

"Oh, Jay," Hannah said, shaking her head. "I remember when you were just out of Basic, so bright-eyed, so determined to follow all the rules and be the best little soldier that you could be. Now you have an 'understanding' with the Pirate Queen of Omega." She hesitated. "And you're working for Cerberus."

Jane's good mood vanished. But they had to talk about this. It was the whole reason she'd arranged this meeting. "Mom … about Cerberus."

"It's okay," Hannah said quickly. "You don't have to apologize. I'm sure that you have your reasons for doing it. I still believe in you, kiddo."

"Mom," Jane breathed, feeling the tears start up again. "I love you." She took a deep breath. "But that's not it, okay? The Illusive Man, the guy who leads Cerberus … it's Daddy."

Hannah stared at her, the color draining from her face. "Your father? Are you serious?"

Jane nodded, feeling the return of the tight knot in her stomach that came whenever she thought about her father, Jack Harper, being a ruthless terrorist.

"That's what he's been up to." Hannah's voice was flat, her eyes burning with a cold fury. Jane had never seen her mother like this before. " _That's_ what he's been doing with himself all these years. Building up a damn pro-human terrorist organization. That _bastard_." She shook her head. "I knew Admiral Kahoku. He was a damn fine officer. I swore that if I ever had the chance, I'd gut the man responsible for his death. And now I come to find out it's _Jack_." Her fury seemed to break in an instant and she put her head on the table. "Damn him. Damn him to _hell_ for doing this to us. For making me fucking _complicit_ in this."

"Mom, no," Jane protested. "You had no idea. _I_ had no idea. I've looked into his timeline." When they'd been on the Citadel, and her extranet use couldn't be tracked by anyone with Cerberus ties. Her reinstated Spectre credentials had given her the access she needed. "He didn't form Cerberus until after the divorce was finalized. After the First Contact War."

She saw Hannah let out a long breath before lifting her head back up. There were tear tracks on her mother's face, again. Jane knew that the divorce had been mutual and as painless as it was possible for these things to be. They hadn't been in love for years, but it was obvious that Hannah still cared about him.

"You're right." Hannah let out another long breath, seeming to pull herself together some. "I still _feel_ complicit, but hopefully that will pass. I'll have to tell the Alliance about this, you know."

"I was counting on it," Jane said grimly.

"That's my girl." Hannah smiled, some of the tension leaving her body. "I just … I wish it didn't make quite so much sense. I remember some of the things he was saying in the run-up to the war. How determined he was to show that humanity couldn't be taken lightly." She sighed. "I was furious with him for getting involved with a mercenary group and bailing on you. He was supposed to be taking care of you while I was on active duty. I couldn't believe he'd abandon you, when up until that point he'd been completely devoted to you." She reached across the table and took her daughter's hands. "You were the center of his world, Jay. From the moment you were born, he wanted nothing but to protect and care for you."

Jane smiled. "I know." Her smile faded. "Which is why this … this is so hard for me to accept, Mom. He was such a good father. He always had time for me. He went out of his way to do the little things to make me feel better and show me how much he loved me. And now I find out…" She trailed off, unable to finish.

Hannah squeezed her hand and didn't let go. Eventually, Jane was able to take a deep breath, straightening herself up and looking at her mother. "What do I do, Mom?" she asked. "I have to work with him until the mission is over. I think he's right about the Collectors. I'm under no illusions that his motivations are pure, and I hate that this might be seen as giving Cerberus legitimacy, but …"

"You keep going," Hannah said gently. "It would kill both of you if you tried to back out now. You hold your ground and stick to your principles. He might try to persuade you to his way of thinking, but he won't push too hard for fear of losing you again." She straightened up and Jane saw her determination and strength returning. Jane loved her mother for that. She might have been dealt a blow by this news, but she wasn't going to let her pain consume her. Jane hoped she could be half as strong as her mother, one day. "And you push back. You're the only one that might be able to reach him. Jane, if you can show him that what he's doing is wrong…"

"I hadn't thought of that," Jane whispered. "Mom, do you really think I could?"

"Honey, if anyone could, it would be you."

Jane nodded slowly. "You … might be right. He's compromising his humans-only principles to recruit aliens to the team, and it's probably because he wants to keep me safe."

"Hm." Hannah seemed thoughtful. "Are any of your friends from two years ago among them?"

"Uh… yeah," Jane said, feeling her cheeks start to heat up.

Hannah tilted her head to the side. "What am I missing here? I just asked if your friends were back." A wicked grin crept onto her face. "Oh, I see. One of them's more than a friend, huh? Which one?"

"Mom!" The blush had spread throughout her entire body. Jane wanted to sink into the seat, maybe even let the floor swallow her up…

"Honey, I'm not your father. I'm not upset that you're involved with an alien. I just want to know who managed to capture your heart."

"So you can threaten him within an inch of his life?"

" _Him._ Hmm, well, that narrows it down to either the turian or the krogan."

"They have _names_ , Mom."

"I hope it's the turian. I try to keep an open mind about these things, but …"

"Mom!"

"It's the age difference, honey. I mean, it would have been one thing if you'd been involved with that asari maiden; she's basically the same age as you, relatively speaking. But that Wrex, he's much too old for you."

" _Mom!"_

Hannah grinned, and Jane finally caught on to what she'd been doing. Distracting the pair of them from the awful fact that the man they both loved, in different ways, was also a terrorist. "I hate you," she mumbled.

"Took your mind off of things, didn't it?" Hannah asked, still grinning unrepentantly and confirming Jane's thoughts. "So, you finally made a move on Garrus."

"Actually, he made —" Jane stopped and stared at her mother, wide-eyed. "Wait, you _knew_?!"

"Well, I guessed," Hannah admitted. "You talked about him much more than the others."

"It's nice to know that I'm so transparent," Jane commented dryly.

"Only to your mother." Hannah let go of her daughter's hands so that she could lean forward on the table. "So. Am I going to get to meet him _properly?_ The last time was under … less than ideal circumstances."

Jane winced, knowing that what her mother was referring to. The funeral, two years ago. She didn't like to think of the effect her death had had on the people she loved. "Will you ever leave me alone if you don't?"

Hannah wagged a finger at her. "You're making some very mean assumptions about your own mother."

"Some very _accurate_ assumptions."

"Touché."

The two Shepard women grinned at each other for a few moments. "Yeah," Jane said finally. "You can meet Garrus today before you leave."


	5. Hello, Goodbye

The Illusive Man resisted the urge to check the monitor that displayed all messages from the Normandy. EDI would notify him when any new Alliance ships docked at Omega. That was one of the benefits of a shackled AI.

When both EDI and Miranda had informed him of Jane's insistence that they be on Omega at a certain date, he had known something was up. It hadn't taken him long to conclude that she'd set up some kind of meeting from Anderson's office on the Citadel. After that, he'd gone back through Jane's records and located everyone that he thought she might have trusted enough to meet with. Then he'd spent time fretting over what she could tell them about Cerberus operations. Her access to files was restricted, so ultimately all she could say was that they had the technology to resurrect her and rebuild the Normandy - both of which had become obvious as soon as she resurfaced.

The release of the list of people on the Normandy was potentially troubling, but the Illusive Man doubted that the Alliance would stoop to intimidating or blackmailing their families. In fact, most of them didn't have much family to speak of — that had been a major factor in assembling the crew, apart from technical aptitude.

About the worst that could happen would be that Jane would set up some sort of dead drop to pass information to the Alliance as she came by it. EDI would keep him informed of those drops. That would give him a chance to control the situation or mitigate the damage as needed.

After the Normandy docked at Omega, he had EDI give him the list of Alliance ships docked there. It was a short one, and none of the ships had anyone he'd previously identified as a potential contact. So, the Normandy had gotten there before whoever Jane had arranged to meet.

Now he was just waiting to see who showed up.

The monitor flashed, displaying a message from EDI. The Orizaba had just docked.

The Illusive Man felt as though he had been punched in the gut. _Orizaba. Hannah._ Jane was meeting with _her mother_. He felt ashamed by his assumptions about Jane's actions. He should have known better. Jane had too profound a sense of honor and integrity. It wouldn't allow her to betray Cerberus while she was working for them, no matter what she felt about their activities. Oh, she might _opportunistically_ pass data along, like she'd done when chasing after the missing Cerberus operative — but not _systematically_.

(He hadn't had it in him to reprimand her for that. Not when she was so furious with him for … everything.)

He told EDI to give him access to the station security feeds. Those had been easy enough to hack. Afterlife's security was much tighter, which was not surprising, given that Aria T'Loak conducted most of her business there. Like the Citadel, he hadn't bothered to make the effort. Cerberus had enemies enough. He didn't need to add Aria to that list.

The Illusive Man felt that gut punch again as he watched Hannah Shepard leave her ship. Her strawberry blonde hair had noticeable streaks of gray in it, more than he'd observed when he'd watched the footage of Jane's funeral. She'd aged so much.

A thousand times during those two years, he'd wished he dared talk to Hannah. The one other person in the world who understood the true depth of his loss, who shared his grief.

And after today, she'd probably never want to speak to him again.

* * *

The next message the Illusive Man received from the Normandy came from Miranda, who told him (in about as curt a message as she'd ever sent him) that Garrus Vakarian had left the Normandy.

 _Vakarian._ The Illusive Man felt his hands clench into fists. There were so many things wrong with _that_ situation, he barely knew where to begin.

First, that his Janie had chosen a non-human. Second, that said non-human was a _turian_. After everything he'd been through in the First Contact War, he could never trust _any_ turian. He hadn't known Archangel's species when he'd directed Jane to recruit him, and he was regretting that lack of concrete intelligence more with every day that passed.

Third, that Vakarian would follow Jane anywhere and everywhere. He'd thought that was a good thing, at first. Someone that trusted her, that _she_ trusted, watching her back. Now, he knew that it would take nothing short of a direct order from the Primarch of Palaven to pull Vakarian from Jane's side. Now, he desperately wanted Vakarian out of sight for a little while so that he could explain to Janie what a mistake she was making. A _turian_. It just wasn't done!

Fourth, and worst of all … that Jane genuinely returned the turian's obvious admiration. That Vakarian was in love with Jane, he'd seen immediately. That his Janie, his little girl, loved the turian - he'd been slow to see the signs, and whether that had been intentional blindness on his part was a question that haunted him whenever he thought of the pair of them together. EDI normally had Jane's cabin surveyed around the clock, but he'd directed her to block the feeds while Vakarian was inside. Bad enough that he had to see the tender glances they gave one another, when they thought no one was looking.

And, well, Jane deserved the privacy, even if he heartily wished that Vakarian would just _go away_ for a time so that they could talk, father and daughter, about the inappropriateness of her romantic entanglement…

The Illusive Man sighed. He was lucky if he could get Jane to talk to him in their _professional_ context. A father-daughter talk was about as likely as Vakarian suddenly turning human. It would have been okay, if he'd been human.

And now, Hannah was going to meet Vakarian. The Illusive Man briefly entertained the hope that Hannah would be as appalled as he was. _She_ had also been in the First Contact War. _She_ had been on the ground, fighting the turians.

But no, he knew better. He knew Hannah too well, even after all this time. Any personal feelings about turians would be set aside in favor of supporting Jane.

(Oh, how traitorous it was, to oppose his daughter's obvious happiness in this.)

* * *

Jane got to her feet as soon as she saw Garrus enter the room, walking over and pulling him into a tight embrace. Her emotions were running high, both from simply _seeing_ her mother again, and from what they had had to talk about.

"Hey," Garrus said softly into her hair. "I've got you." He didn't feel the need to ask her about what was bothering her. He just held her. She loved him for that.

Jane could almost feel her mother's eyes boring holes into her back, so she reluctantly straightened herself up and backed out of Garrus' embrace. "Mom, you remember Garrus?"

"Of course," Hannah replied, smiling. "It's nice to see you again. The circumstances are much better now, I'm sure you'd agree."

"A lot better." Garrus looped an arm around Jane's waist, keeping her close. "I'm glad Jane was able to set this up. I know she's been having a hard time with…"

"The fact that my ex-husband tops the Alliance's most wanted list?" Hannah replied dryly. " _I'm_ having a hard time with it and I don't have to work with him."

Garrus nodded. His fingers pressed into her waist. It was a little uncomfortable, but Jane didn't mind. His presence was steadying her, making her feel more like Commander Shepard than just Jane.

"Tell me about your family," Hannah said encouragingly. Jane had to smile at the _normalcy_ of it. A mother assessing her daughter's boyfriend, trying to figure out if he was good enough.

"My dad's retired from C-Sec," Garrus said. "My sister's still in her mandatory service to the Hierarchy. Last I knew she was angling for an intelligence position, but…" He sighed. "If she got it, I wouldn't know. I'm no longer permitted access to that information."

It was Jane's turn to snake her arm around Garrus' waist, leaning into him and trying to provide comfort.

"My mom was a scientist," Garrus continued. "She taught me most of what I know about technology - omni-tools and the like. She's … she's sick."

Jane turned so she could look at his face. He hadn't mentioned that to her. She'd known about his father, of course. And she'd known that he _had_ a sister. But not what his sister was doing, or anything about his mother. She felt guilty for never having asked for more detail.

"It's a rare neurodegenerative disease." Jane saw the tension in his face, which was reflected in his soft, controlled tone. "There's no cure. There are … some treatments that try to improve quality of life. She's getting them. I think." Garrus let out a long sigh. "I … haven't been able to get in contact with them since coming onboard the Normandy."

"Is it because you don't want the Illusive Man intercepting your communications?" Jane asked. She'd do whatever was necessary to ensure that Garrus could stay in contact with his family. She couldn't imagine going through something like that with her own mother. She'd want to be there by Hannah's side throughout the whole process.

"More or less," Garrus admitted.

Jane looked at Hannah, her face intent. "Mom, is there any way -"

"That we can set up a backdoor channel so that you can feed me intel and I can feed you information such as how Garrus' family is doing?" Hannah finished. "It's a good idea, Jay. We just need to figure out the best way to do it."

"What about a dead drop here, on Omega?"

Hannah shook her head. "Raises too much suspicion for me to be coming to Omega often." She pursed her lips. "We need a third party that we can both send messages to without arousing suspicion. Someone who can be trusted implicitly."

"What about Liara?" Garrus said. "Jane, you said that you were told she wasn't available. That she couldn't be trusted."

"But it was the - my father who said that," Jane replied. "If _anyone_ can't be trusted, it's _him_." She nodded decisively. "I trust Liara. I know she'd be willing to help."

Hannah nodded. "An asari maiden and known associate of yours shouldn't be a problem on my end. We just need to work out a cipher. I'll figure out a way to get a message to her. Going to Illium after this would paint too clear of a picture about what's going on." She looked thoughtful. "The message will need to include something that makes it clear you're in on this, Jay. Something that only you and her would know."

It was Jane's turn to nod and look thoughtful for a few moments before speaking again. "On Therum, she thought I was a hallucination when I showed up," she said, feeling the return of the guilt she'd felt then upon realizing that going to Feros first had lengthened Liara's stay in her self-made prison. That guilt had lead her to leave that part out of the official report. The only other people who had heard that were Ashley (another pang of guilt) and Garrus. She saw Garrus nodding in recognition.

"Good." Hannah made her way over to the table where she and Jane had been sitting before Garrus entered. "Let's work out this cipher."

* * *

The Illusive Man watched the feed that showed him Vakarian and Jane walking out of Afterlife, hand-in-hand, with Hannah right behind them. He saw Jane let go of Vakarian's hand to hug her mother tightly. It was an effort to control the raw envy he felt, watching that hug. He knew that he might never get the chance to hug Janie again in that manner.

As soon as Jane stepped back, Vakarian offered a hand to Hannah. She took the hand and pulled _him_ into a hug. Vakarian was plainly startled, but didn't back off.

His worst fears were confirmed. Jane and Hannah were back on the same page. Hannah approved of Vakarian.

If he wasn't careful, he'd lose his Janie all over again.


	6. Can't Buy Me Love

_From: Liara T'Soni (Extranet)  
_ _To: Commander Jane Shepard  
_ _Subject: Helping_

 _Shepard,_

 _I'm relieved beyond words to find out that you're alive. While I am currently unable to join you in your latest mission, I've compiled as much information about the Collectors as I could find and attached it here. If you happen to come by Illium for any reason, please stop in and see me._

 _Your friend,_

 _Liara_

 _[Multiple attachments follow]_

 _ATTACHMENT 13  
_ _DECRYPTED TEXT_

 _HS explained everything. Currently working as info broker, so access to relevant info greatly increased. Tell you more in person.  
_ _Give rest of this file to Prof S. Pass results back to me.  
_ _My best to GV. It's about time._

 _[The remainder of the attachment is a patient file for a female turian with Corpalis Syndrome.]_

* * *

 _CERBERUS MESSAGING_

 _Initiated by Miranda Lawson [ML-SR2]  
_ _To the Illusive Man [BASE]  
_ _[ML-SR2]: Shepard received a message from Liara T'Soni.  
_ _[BASE]: What was the message about?  
_ _[ML-SR2]: Information on the Collectors. We might have a leak.  
_ _[BASE]: I suspect that Tali'Zorah vas Neema sent that information to Liara.  
_ _[ML-SR2]: I hadn't considered that. You're probably right.  
_ _[ML-SR2]: Still, I thought we'd decided to isolate Shepard from her former colleagues.  
_ _[BASE]: T'Soni is providing useful information and not attempting to steer Shepard away from the mission.  
_ _[ML-SR2]: I hope you're not letting your sentiment blind you.  
_ _[BASE]: The mission comes first.  
_ _[BASE]: Was there anything else?  
_ _[BASE]: Miranda?  
_ _[ML-SR2]: No  
_

 _CONVERSATION TERMINATED BY MIRANDA LAWSON_

* * *

Jane Shepard folded her arms across her chest and glared defiantly at her father, who looked back at her with anger written all over his face. For a moment, she felt like she was 16 again and had been caught sneaking out to go to a party. He'd worn pretty much that exact expression then.

"What were you thinking?" her father demanded. "Running into that refinery —"

"I _had_ to," Jane shot back. "Zaeed left me no choice."

"The mission was to deal with Vido Santiago, not play firefighter!"

"And if Zaeed hadn't been reckless and irresponsible, I wouldn't have _had_ to play firefighter!" Jane hardened her expression, refusing to back down. "This whole situation is _his_ fault. I did my best to salvage it."

"You're supposed to be getting the loyalty of your team by helping them with outstanding issues." Her father met her hard expression with one of his own. Well, to be fair, she _had_ picked up that mannerism from him. "Thanks to your actions, Vido is _still_ an outstanding issue."

"Zaeed's loyalty isn't a problem." Jane still remembered the expression on his face when he had been pinned beneath that piece of wreckage. "He'll stay on mission from now on."

"Are you sure about that?"

The anger that had been present in Jane for the entire conversation finally reached its boiling point. She stepped forward, getting right in the face of the QEC image. For the first time she actually wished that her father was here in person. "I'm _very_ sure where the mission is concerned." She kept her voice soft. The alternative was screaming at him, which wouldn't accomplish anything. "I happen to agree that having everyone focused on the mission gives us the best chance of coming back alive, and I _want_ everyone to come back alive, Da—"

Jane stopped herself mid-sentence, feeling her heart constrict. _Daddy_. That felt inappropriate and completely appropriate at the same time. He was reacting like an overprotective father instead of a dispassionate controller. Maybe he would have been upset if someone who wasn't his daughter had taken these actions, but he wouldn't have blown up in this manner.

She wished, not for the first time, that her father wasn't the Illusive Man. She loved her father, but she hated the Illusive Man.

If she was ever going to get Jack Harper back, the Illusive Man had to die.

"I want to live through this," Jane said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had stretched out between them. "You may think I'm taking unnecessary risks. But one of the rules for these types of missions is that you don't second-guess your people on the ground." She straightened up, forcing her conflicting feelings about _her father_ to the back of her mind. She was dealing with the Illusive Man right now. "You have to trust me. Or this isn't going to work."

The expression on his face turned sad, almost regretful. She felt tears starting to prick at her eyes, and locked those emotions down with a cold ruthlessness that she had _also_ learned from him. Damn it all to hell.

"I do trust you," he said finally.

Jane nodded. "I'm heading to Purgatory next. I'll let you know when we have Jack." She turned and left the room. Her iron grip on her emotions held firm through her trip to her quarters, through placing a call to the main battery with a request for Garrus to come to her cabin.

But she broke as soon as the door slid shut behind him, flinging herself into his arms. Garrus was her rock, the person that she could always depend on to be there. Someone who trusted her and wasn't going to second-guess her decisions.

She knew she'd be lost without him.

* * *

 _From: Commander Jane Shepard  
_ _To: Liara T'Soni (Extranet)  
_ _Subject: RE: Helping_

 _Liara,_

 _Thank you so much for passing on that information. I'm making good use of it. I hope to get a chance to visit Illium soon._

 _In the spirit of reciprocity, here's some information on the Collectors that I've gathered. Maybe you'll see some pattern or connection that I missed. You're good at that._

 _Your friend,_

 _Shepard_

 _[Multiple attachments follow]_

 _ATTACHMENT 2  
_ _DECRYPTED TEXT_

 _Prof S had a field day. GV sends his gratitude.  
_ _Also included notes from Prof S's main project. Pass to HS.  
_ _Will come to Illium ASAP._

* * *

Jane walked into the mess area and raised an eyebrow at Sergeant Gardner. "All right, what's this emergency?"

"This came in with the latest supplies shipment," Gardner said, pulling a box out from one of the cabinets. "With some very strongly worded instructions. I like this job, Shepard. Don't care to have hell rain down upon me for any reason."

"Why would hell be raining down upon you?" Jane asked, taking the offered box.

"Well, it won't be, now that I've handed this off, and that's a relief," Gardner replied. "I can get back to doing my _actual_ job." He turned away from her, bending to begin unpacking the supply shipment.

Jane picked up the stack of notes on top of the box and started reading through them.

 _DELIVER TO COMMANDER JANE SHEPARD IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT  
_ _NO ONE EXCEPT JANE SHEPARD IS TO OPEN THIS BOX FOR ANY REASON  
_ _FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL BE MET WITH SEVERE PENALTIES  
_ _UP TO AND INCLUDING RAINING HELL DOWN UPON THE OFFENDER_

"Overkill much, Dad?" Jane muttered, shaking her head and opening the box. Inside were carefully wrapped snickerdoodle cookies. Jane's heart twisted as she realized that her father must have baked them himself, the way he always used to when she was younger. She'd never found any cookies that she liked as much as the ones she now held in her hands.

Jane felt torn over what to do with the cookies. She was still mad at her father, and a part of her wanted to just turn them over to the crew to spite him. She could even justify it by saying that she didn't want special treatment just because she was the Commander.

But this wasn't special treatment because she was the Commander. This was a gift from a father to his daughter. A peace offering, perhaps.

Or maybe she just wanted to believe it was a peace offering.

Jane continued to stare at the cookies for several long moments before she made her decision.

* * *

 _From: Commander Hannah Shepard  
_ _To: Jack Harper  
_ _[Auto-forwarded to Cerberus address]  
_ _Subject: Your true priorities_

 _Jack,_

 _When Jane told me what you were up to, I was as furious as I've ever been in my entire life. I couldn't believe what you were doing with yourself. I still can't. It just doesn't fit._

 _It made me wonder how much you hid from me when we were married. If I'd ever known you at all, or if I'd just seen one face, one side of you._

 _But I've had a little time to think about this. About our daughter and what she's doing. You had to know that she'd find a way to talk to me about this, and you had to know that the information would get to the Alliance. So they know who you are now. Some of the benefit of working in the shadows is gone. I'm not permitted to be part of it, but I imagine that there's teams of analysts in some windowless basement working up an addition to the Cerberus profile based on your documented history._

 _You had to know that, and you did it anyways._

 _You gave the Alliance and its allies an edge against Cerberus because you gave this mission to Jane._

 _You could have brought her back and just let her go without letting her know you were behind this. Recruited another team for this mission. You can tell yourself that it's because our Jay is the best there is, and while that is the truth, it isn't all of it._

 _You couldn't pass up the chance to bring yourself back into close contact with her._

 _You put your relationship with your daughter above the principles of Cerberus._

 _Because of that, Jack, I have to say - you're exactly the man I thought you were._

 _You know how to find me and under what circumstances I would actually welcome seeing you._

 _-Hannah_

* * *

The Illusive Man watched Jane on the footage that EDI was feeding to his computer. Jane stood in the mess, box of cookies in hand, just staring down at them. He was anxious about what she would do in a way that seemed entirely out of proportion to the situation at hand. They were just cookies.

Her favorite cookies, that had always served to cheer her up when things looked bad.

He thought back to Hannah's message. He'd read it at least ten times now, trying to decide if his ex-wife was right.

He still didn't have an answer.

Jane looked directly at the camera. "Thanks, Dad," she said. The Illusive Man let out a long breath and slumped back into his chair. He watched the feed a moment longer, seeing her unwrap the cookies and give one to Gardner, before shutting it off.

Almost immediately, his screen flickered an alert. The intelligence analysts had sent him a report.

 _Sir,_

 _The data from Dr. T'Soni has been very helpful in continuing to analyze the Collectors. Unfortunately, it isn't enough. We need to see the Collectors in action if we are going to formulate a plan to counter their efforts and ultimately defeat them._

 _We cannot detect any kind of pattern in where the Collectors strike. We got lucky with the attack on Freedom's Progress, in that Commander Shepard was able to get there before the Alliance did. Our recommendation is to provoke them into striking somewhere._

 _The only leverage we have found to use as a goad is related to Commander Jane Shepard._

The Illusive Man read that sentence again, feeling anger building in his stomach. He would _not_ use his daughter as bait. Mentally preparing a reply blasting this analyst's intellect, and that of his mother's, he continued reading.

 _We believe that if the Collectors know that Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko will be on a vulnerable human colony, they will strike at that colony. Attached are proposals for how to ensure that Alenko is on a colony of our choice. We suggest Horizon._

He read through the proposals. They all stood a good chance of working, and he agreed with the analysts' assessment that the Collectors would try to strike at someone Shepard cared about. He spared a moment to be grateful that Hannah's ship was too hard of a target for the Collectors to go after.

So it wasn't his Janie that would be bait — it was Alenko, who was one of his daughter's best friends, almost like the brother she'd never had. The Illusive Man hated that he only knew that from the various reports that his people had prepared. Janie should've been the one to tell him, to introduce them to each other.

Janie would never forgive him if he used Alenko as bait.

But they needed a break, and this was the only way that his people had come up with that stood half a chance of working.

The Illusive Man stared at the screen for several long moments before he started composing a reply.


	7. Won't Get Fooled Again

The two reports that the Illusive Man produced were works of art. And like many masterpieces, they would never truly be appreciated by their audience.

The first report he sent to his top agent in Alliance space. He trusted that she would see that it properly distributed. She had been doing this job for a long time now and was thus completely irreplaceable. He'd long since destroyed all digital files which referenced her true name and occupation.

The second he kept in his private files, waiting for the day when it could be sent. He was usually very good about being patient, setting a reminder on his personal calendar and then putting it out of his mind until the appropriate time. Often, he had to make small tweaks to these reports that were necessary to maintain the air of verisimilitude.

But this time was different. Usually, he could count on his agents to take the revelation that they had been set up in stride. (And if any ever failed to realize that they had been set up, they were promptly dismissed. There was no use for such people in a clandestine organization.) If needed, he could give a speech about operational security and the concept of need-to-know.

Jane, he knew, would not take the revelation in stride. She would hate being set up, and she would _especially_ hate that he had made the decision to put Kaidan Alenko in danger. The Illusive Man was confident that Alenko could handle himself; that he'd be in no more danger than any other mission. But he knew that wouldn't be good enough for Jane.

So he had carefully prepared a suitable scapegoat. A fictitious overzealous analyst who had acted against the orders of his direct superior, who was operating under strict directives from the Illusive Man. He'd played out a few different versions of the scenario in his head. _The safeguards failed, and I am sorry,_ he imagined himself saying. _You have to know that I would never want your friend Kaidan to get hurt_.

Even as he made those preparations he knew that they might be inadequate. Jane was too smart, too determined (and too angry at him) to accept any explanation at face value. If - _when_ \- she went digging, there was a good chance she'd find the tracks that any ordinary operative would have missed.

Which had necessitated the creation of a second scapegoat. Another completely fictitious person, a member of the Alliance who had cooked up a scheme to further tarnish Cerberus' reputation. _I couldn't possibly say whether this person was rogue, or if he was acting on orders. Jane, you know the inner workings of the Alliance far better than I. What do you think?_

And so he waited, fretting, turning it over in his head a million times.

Unable to shake the feeling that he should have trusted his daughter, that the course he was on would only lead to disaster.

* * *

Kaidan took a moment to steady himself before knocking on the door. He was in a wing of Arcturus Station set aside for visiting captains, giving them space and privacy for any meetings they wanted to conduct.

"Come in," a female voice said from inside, and Kaidan opened the door.

The last time he had seen Captain Hannah Shepard had been at Jane's funeral, two years ago. She looked much the same to him now, seated behind a small table, a strand of strawberry blonde hair falling across a face that could be Jane's in a few decades. He straightened himself up and saluted her. "Ma'am."

"At ease," Hannah said, gesturing to a chair on the other side of the table. "Have a seat."

Kaidan took the indicated chair. He kept his back straight, bringing his head up to meet her gaze. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

"Don't bother with the formalities, Kaidan. As you've no doubt guessed, this is about Jane, and thus formally outside of any chain of command."

Kaidan relaxed. "I didn't want to presume, ma'am - er, Hannah." She'd told him to use her name, the first time they'd met - before Normandy had even deployed, when Anderson was still in command.

Hannah nodded. "Good instincts, but unnecessary here. What have you heard?"

"That she's back, and working with Cerberus." Kaidan didn't bother to hide his puzzlement and incredulity. "Have you seen her? Is it true?"

"Yes to both." Hannah leaned back slightly in her chair. "And yes, I believe that she's my daughter, and not some kind of … impostor or clone."

"How can you be sure?" Kaidan blurted. He hated that such a horrible idea had ever occurred to him, but once it had - no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get it out of his mind. He wanted to be wrong. Bad enough that Jane had been dead. She was his best friend, more like a sister; the first person he'd really felt that he could call family since Jump Zero. But if she'd been somehow _replaced_ … he wasn't sure that he'd be able to stop himself from hunting the impostor down and putting a bullet between her eyes.

If he could bring himself to shoot someone who looked exactly like Jane.

"Before I answer that, Kaidan, I need you to swear that you'll keep this information to yourself," Hannah replied. "If you tell the wrong person, it could put Jane's life in jeopardy."

"I swear," Kaidan replied after only a moment's pause.

Hannah relaxed slightly, as though his words had lifted a burden from her. "The reason I'm so confident is because the head of Cerberus, commonly called the 'Illusive Man', is my ex-husband Jack Harper. Jane's father." Kaidan's eyes widened in shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but Hannah cut him off with a raised hand. "Before you ask, I didn't know, nor did Jane, until after he'd brought her back from the dead. But him being responsible for bringing Jane back means that I'm utterly confident she's the same person that she was two years ago. Jack would never insult Jane's memory by propping up a fake."

Kaidan took a moment to let that sink in before he spoke again. "It must be tearing her apart, knowing that he's her father." He remembered the look on her face when they'd discovered Admiral Kahoku's body. That cold fury that only came out when she was faced with a seemingly impossible obstacle, the determination to find away around it no matter what anyone said.

"It is. But you know Jane," Hannah said with a fond smile, "she's not one to let that sort of thing sit idly. When I met her on Omega, we set up a way for her to funnel intel to the Alliance."

"That's great news," Kaidan replied. "How?"

"Through your friend Liara. Jane sends seemingly innocuous messages to Liara with the real information encrypted in an attachment. Liara decodes it, then passes it to me. The three of us are the only ones who know the code." Hannah lifted her arm, her omni-tool flashing into existence. She hit a button, and Kaidan's omni-tool beeped to let him know he had a new message. "Four, now."

Kaidan stared down at his omni-tool. "Does - did she -"

"No." Hannah sighed, and the conviction that she'd displayed since he walked in the room seemed to waver. "Earlier, I said this was outside of the chain of command. That's not entirely true. When we're done here, Hackett will have an assignment for you. He knows we're talking. He knows what Jane's doing." She shook her head. "And neither of us like what we're proposing, but it's the best way to keep Jane safe."

"Hannah - what the hell is going on?" The last time Kaidan had spoken to a superior officer like that, it had been Jane who heard those words.

"I thought that they would leave me out of the analysis," Hannah said quietly. "That they'd think I was biased. Instead, they said they wanted my input because I know him so well. Not that I'm sure of that anymore. Regardless…"

Kaidan suppressed the urge to question her again. Whatever was going on, it was something big.

"Kaidan, I think that the Illusive Man is trying to lay a trap for the Collectors - with you as the bait." Hannah leaned forward. "And I'm so, so, sorry that we're asking this, but we want you to go along with it."

* * *

 _Sorry for a short chapter; I'll do my best to have the next one posted soon :)_


End file.
